Headphone talk

Discussion in 'Soundcards, Speakers HiFI & File formats' started by FULMTL, Feb 23, 2013.

  1. Rebel975

    Rebel975 Guest

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    ^With a "recommended minimum requirement" of a $5,000 amp and $5,000 DAC. lol.
     
  2. N0sferatU

    N0sferatU Ancient Guru

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    Oh no doubt I agree but I'm not going to lie those things sounded amazing. Now did they sound that many times better than my current arsenal? ABSOLUTELY NOT. Bang for your buck just isn't there. I got to jam some Armin and Massive Attack on the Stax (to a couple of blank stares because of the genre haha). Great soundstage and presence on them it's something everyone should hear at least once.

    Since we're doing "headphone talk". Here's some of the toys at a "meet" I went to about a year ago. See if you audiophiles can identify these headphones! :)

    First one I'll give away that's the Stax with it's "baby cousin". See if you can guess the rest...I had my Denon's posing with some other gear in a few of these shots.


    [​IMG]

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  3. Rebel975

    Rebel975 Guest

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    In order they appear, from left to right:

    SR-009 > SR-007, AH-D7000 > LCD-2 bamboo, AH-D7000 > RS-1(?), AH-D7000 > HD800 > DT880/990? > LCD2, HE90 (drool)
     
  4. N0sferatU

    N0sferatU Ancient Guru

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    damn pretty close on almost all. RS-1 was correct. The Second set of 4 ya goofed the first one and I'm blanking on the exact model but it's a JVC branded headphone that's similar to the Denon. The 3rd one is a Beyerdynamic model but was a T1.
     

  5. GenClaymore

    GenClaymore Ancient Guru

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    I been a member my self over head-fi for some years as well, I usually stay outta the sound sci form, As I know its all about people shoving there opinions down your throat. I usually sell my audio gear over their, or browse there headphone,computer audio or source section.

    Used to go over there alot when I used to do op-amp swapping . Too bad we don't have a more refine audio section here.

    As with them spending a lot of money on audio gear, its all in the eye of the beholder,If there happy with any improvements that they feel they hear. Then that's all it really matter's, nothing else. I surely wouldn't spend that much as I have limits on how much I would spend on any thing. Because the same thing can be said about what we spend on computer hardware in their or some one else eyes.
     
  6. John

    John Ancient Guru

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    It's not any different over here in the enthusiast computer world though, is it? People spend silly money on RAM with lower latencies, which has what effect in a real-world scenario? None. Expensive cooling to shave off a couple of degrees, to which effect? The list goes on. The law of diminishing returns exist in any field really. I know people who'll have no objections on spending $2000 on a jacket. Silly, right?

    As long as you feel you get joy from the money you spend I don't really see the problem. Sure, there's wild placebo going on in the audio world, but so what? As long as people feel the perceived gain is worth it, let them have their fun. Trying to argue against people who feel it's worth spending $1000 on a power cable is like trying to convince someone their religion is wrong. It's pointless.
     
  7. scrapser

    scrapser Master Guru

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    This is a great thread. More people should read it. For myself, I educated myself by reading content on the Headroom website, then reading forum threads at AVS and Head-Fi. My experience at the Head-Fi was pretty much the same. I felt like I was just running my brain in circles after a while.

    Sound is extremely subjective so it seems that everyone is either an expert (on themselves) or afraid to make a statement of substance. In the long run I just bought what I felt would make me happy and the H*ll with what everyone else says. I did learn alot along the way though. I was particularly surprised that some people actually have different headphones for different types of music. I suppose that works but it is a genuine exception.

    I like something that is well rounded and can be used for a broad spectrum of music. So long as nothing in particular stands out in a negative way, I consider them to be good.

    For me, the answer was Denon AH-D7100 and a dedicated AMP/DAC from Headroom.
     
  8. gridiron whirlw

    gridiron whirlw Ancient Guru

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    I would love to hear those LCD-2 Bamboo's,

    Are those Grados RS1's with the jumbo pads ?

    I also go to Head-Fi to sell my used gear....sold my Grado 325i's pretty much instantly there.....have bought some nice used stuff as well
     
    Last edited: Feb 26, 2013
  9. N0sferatU

    N0sferatU Ancient Guru

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    No idea it was so long ago. I've heard just about the entire Grado lineup. I've listened to SR-80, SR-125, SR-325, RS-2, RS-1, HF-2, GS-1000.
     
  10. Tom F

    Tom F Ancient Guru

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    Completely agree. I'm firmly in the 'good enough is good enough' camp with audio - but that's a lot less fun to offer wild conjecture about ;)

    People can do whatever they like - but when people are suggesting 'your system will sound crap unless you have a £1800 XLR lead in there' to people who don't know any better, it's pretty sad.

    I wonder how many people have been persuaded to buy something really expensive that didn't make a dot of difference and have been completely put off the whole thing. I'd guess many :(

    Trouble is a lot of people take this stuff as gospel - which means that the average noob is left thinking that it's not worth buying anything that doesn't carry a 4-figure price tag as places like head-fi get saturated with these opinions.

    Which is bad.

    Then again, I drive a car cheap car with 400k on the clock and am listening to NE5532s. I'm a cheapskate and am massively biased the other way - though at least I realise I guess.
     
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2013

  11. N0sferatU

    N0sferatU Ancient Guru

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    Agreed. I spent "moderate" amount and am more than happy with the end result. I'm rounding here..

    $400 amp/dac
    $225 used HD600
    $650 new D7000
    $80 stand

    ~$1300 = two headphones and bliss. Any more and it's really diminishing returns (and quite frankly I can't imagine any better other than the HE-6 / Stax 009).

    For some that would be retardedly expensive and for others that wouldn't be even a dent to the wallet in this hobby. It's all relative.
     
  12. Darkest

    Darkest Guest

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    That's sort of my current aim (price-wise) to be honest. I'm wanting to upgrade my Sennheiser HD650's, and the HE-500's seem to be the place to look at regarding that sort of upgrade. From there I'll decide on what I'm doing for a second pair, which will either involve selling the HE-500's if they don't meet expectations or selling the 650's and finding something to compliment.

    I listen to most genres so I'd like to cover as wide a spectrum as possible. I've a couple of months left before I take the plunge anyway, so I'll be doing as much reading as possible. Auditioning is almost out of the question where I live, you're lucky to find an HMV let alone anywhere selling decent gear.
     
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2013
  13. gridiron whirlw

    gridiron whirlw Ancient Guru

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    I probably have $2000 invested in audio equipment including my stereo in the basement, that I dont even use anymore.

    I have been basically just using my pc set-up.

    Asus Essence and Grado RS1i....I use the Grado 15ft. extension cable to take my cans into the living room and get nice and comfy.

    I would say the RS1i is the best $500 that I have ever spent for audio gear.....just amazing
     
  14. FULMTL

    FULMTL Ancient Guru

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    Updated my ghetto expensive headset.

    This is an Audio Technica SJ33 body with drivers from my broken AKG K167 and the Samsung mic I scavanged. I previously made plastic rings to use the original larger earpads along with ports on the baffle to keep the original soundstage. Used a metal coat hanger and some duct tape to hold the mic. A temporary solution because the headphone cable is very short, but it's OK because I have my DAC on the desk.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Mar 5, 2013
  15. FULMTL

    FULMTL Ancient Guru

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    I've been playing Far Cry 3 with the above abomination, and I gotta say these rock for gaming! Every time I switch from the SRH940 to the AKG K167, I notice a difference mostly in the details. The AKG K167 is able to pick up more lower/quieter details than the SRH940 in game and I can hear enemies very easily. Sweet.
    I wish I was doing this type of stuff years ago when I played more games :( So many years playing on $20-40 headsets that keep breaking and sounded like crap...
     
    Last edited: Mar 10, 2013

  16. DerSchniffles

    DerSchniffles Ancient Guru

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    What are your thoughts on gaming headsets out right now? I have the Turtle Beach X41 headphones on my pc right now and I wasnt too impressed until I got a dedicated sound card about 3 days ago.....They really made my headphones come alive. I could even hear the flickering sound of lightbulbs in Tomb Raider and weird other noises in games and music. I do know there are much better sounding headphones but I have a hard time spending that kind of money for just headphones (well I dont but my wife does considering "its just for you!!! MEEEHHHH"). I got these unopened on Craigslist for $80 so I couldnt resist.


    I listen mostly to Electronica music (dub, progressive house/trance) and gaming. Any good tips on tweaking or anything? One thing ive noticed is that I have the headphone reciever plugged into the sound card via digital optical and none of the presets seem to work. Actually nothing seems to work in the control panel minus turning off and on the headphones lol. I would like to use the FlexBass option to set the LFE frequency but I dont want to mess with my music too much.

    Side note, I thought I had blown the headphones because I would get this weird faint crackling noise when the bass would hit but then I realized it was because the mp3 was low bitrate.....how cool lol.
     
  17. FULMTL

    FULMTL Ancient Guru

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    I've only heard the wired Turtle Beach headsets, and I didn't like any of them. The most common thing I notice on cheap gaming headsets is that the sound distorts (crackling sound) at close to their max volume.
    The next thing is the sound signature. Most headsets are bright so that vocals stand out the most. This leads to a lack off bass.
    I remember listening to a Turtle Beach demo at Walmart. When the plane flew by and was dropping bombs, I laughed because the was no bass impact or punch. You didn't even feel anything, but the guy on screen was really trying to convince you they were great.

    A cheap headphone that would make an awesome headset is the JVC HA-M5X for under $50. There is so much bass on those that you would feel gun shots and explosions as if you had a subwoofer near you. It may not be the most detailed headphone, but it would be muchbetter than a $50-99 gaming headset that only claim to have bass.

    Other cheap but good potential headsets would be:
    JVC HA-S500 - $50. Wide soundstage, decent detail with good bass punch. Less bass but better soundstage than the HAM5X. On the ear design though.

    JVC HAM750 $50 - although these sound similar to the one above, the build quality with thick plastic, nice earpad material, and isolation really stand out to me for the cost. Bass is great, however soundstage and details were just average.

    Shure SRH440+SRH840 earpads -$99.
    Amaaaazing details, good soundstage. Upgraded earpads bring up the bass quantity to what I'd consider near perfect levels.
     
    Last edited: Mar 11, 2013
  18. DerSchniffles

    DerSchniffles Ancient Guru

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    Thank you for the suggestions. I will look into finding a place that I can listen to them at.

    Like I had mentioned before, I liked the TB headset I have before but definetly felt like they were......empty. But since getting a dedicated sound card, the sound has simply changed beyond what I had hoped. And if these changed that much, im sure (and very curious) to what a "real" pair of headphones would sound like.
     
  19. FULMTL

    FULMTL Ancient Guru

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    The other day I was thinking how bad speakers are on TV's and monitors.
    Since I don't have any speakers (saving at the moment), I often connect two headphones to my DAC/AMP and just listen that way. It's sad that this sounds better than the TV!! Higher quality headphones don't get distorted when the volume is high and there is so much more clarity and detail.
     
  20. FULMTL

    FULMTL Ancient Guru

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    I did a bass mod on my SRH940's because I was going to do a driver transplant anyway. Headband already broke, so why not.

    It was simply drilling two small 1mm holes into the earcups, and surprisingly this increases bass. A third hole could probably comprimise the quality, so I didn't go that far. Now the SRH940's sound how I want them too! Massive detail and now massive bass. After a driver transplant, I don't think I'm going to buy another headphone for a while.

    It now makes me want to try this with other headphones with a similar setup (bright, lacks a bit of bass).
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2013

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